


The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4am knows all my secrets

by Zombieprinz



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Blood, M/M, also horizontal fighting, if you catch my drift, its all in good humour, physical violence, ren and hux are idiots who resort to fighting instead of talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:42:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zombieprinz/pseuds/Zombieprinz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux is being woken in the middle of the night to deal with uneccesary bullshit. At least he might get a chance to do what he has wanted to do for a long time and punch the crap out of his least favourite Knight of Ren. Things end differently than he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4am knows all my secrets

  
  


The thing pulling Hux from his usual light sleep is his datapad.  
  


Ghost-blue light flickers over the dark, bare walls and reflects from the lonely glass of water on the bedside table, making him blink owlishly at the bright screen, trying to decipher the meaning of this disturbance.

Assembling his still sleep-addled wits, the General swipes away the alerting notification. A security breach somewhere deep in the bowels of the gigantic ship Hux has made his own, and the assurance that a duo of troopers will be sent to check.  
  


Hux blinks at the screen for a second, recalling the exact location of the breach. Down there is nothing.  
  


He drafts a short reply, waving off the patrol. He'll have a technician look into it tomorrow, probably a broken sensor.

The troopers are needed more elsewhere.

  
  


Still, it grates on him, knowing there is just one minimally broken cog in his machine, just one slight malfunction. Or maybe he's getting paranoid, as his brain projects resistance fighters in the pits of his ship, setting up bombs to compromise the hull.

That won't happen of course. The Finalizer is fitted with a vast array of blast doors to seal everything closed in case of a breach, every part of the ship able to operate separately without missing a beat.  
  


  


His feet hit the floor.

Whatever is down there, now he is too awake to leave it in peace, and he won't be able to sleep until he finds out.

The problems of being a paranoid perfectionist, he muses grimly as he shrugs into his clothes. He even considers bypassing the uniform jacket and just wearing his coat, but then, even though the ship is currently on night cycle, he still has an immaculate reputation to uphold, even if he plans on collapsing back into bed upon his return.

  
  
  


Through a series of elevators, stairs and walkways, he finds his way into the starboard flank of the Finalizer, near the stern where the massive amount of energy created by the hypermatter-annihilation reactor is channeled and pressed into space to create the gigantic forward momentum needed to push the unimaginable amount of metal through empty space.

  


In fact, Hux can feel the thrumming of the pure energy in the grated metal beneath his soles, an energy that seemingly flows in tact with his pulse, and he allows himself to run his fingertips over the dark, brushed metal walls, feeling the echoing vibration. A magnificent machine indeed.

  
  


It takes entirely too long to get there.

Guided by a small holo-projection of the ships innards - he may be rumoured to know every inch of his vessel, but that doesn't mean he is going to blindly run around the dark corridors just to fall down an unexpected ladder-shaft in the dead of the night, thank you very much - he finally finds the room.

It is a storage. Large, and surprisingly unused. Probably because it is just so out of the way it would be a waste of resources to store anything back here. He will need to have a talk with the engineers about that.  
  


Hux nearly hopes he is too late. He half expects to find a pair of personnel, maybe some especially daring officers down here, who are trying to make use of a newly found hideout to gain just a shred of privacy. Maybe he should have let Mitaka send out those troopers and saved himself the trouble. On the off chance that this is indeed an infiltrating enemy... Hux is still a decent enough shot to get things done himself.  
  


Sighing mentally and steeling himself for whatever awaits in there, Hux keys in his access codes at the door panel, and the door slips open with just the faintest hiss.

The hallway is dim, but it's still lit enough to spill into the darkness that is the storage room.

It isn't particularly large, not for Finalizer standards. You could still probably park a few TIEs in there.  
  


Hux silently adjusts the lights via the indoors-panel that is situated just to his right with the most minuscule of touches.

Even without it he can feel that something isn't right. Not exactly dangerous, his senses tell him. But out of the ordinary.

  
  


He sweeps the room with his eyes, catches on the bundle of rumpled black cloth on the floor. Before he can even begin to ascertain his former theories, his attention snaps back to the familiar dark texture of the fabric.

  
  


That's Ren's coat and tattered shawls, and sure enough, after prodding the heap with his foot, even the mask appears, the chromed lines unmistakable. The boots he finds a few more paces into the room.

With a frown, Hux turns and looks for the knight, who is apparently gallivanting across an empty hangar in just his shirtsleeves, in the dark.  
  


Fucking Force-users.  
  


  


He ventures further into the room, wondering if Ren is still around, and, in one ludicrous moment wondering if he has found a way to use the Force to mask himself, to become invisible to the untrained eye.

Hux knows there are limits to the Force, but he also knows of the possibilities, the myriads of uses with the mind-warping.  
  


Then, there is noise. Not loud, not hectic.  
  


He looks up, to find Kylo Ren in the rafters.  
  


Ren is balancing on what is maybe half a foot wide of steel, and high up in the air.

The fool also has his eyes closed, arms just marginally outstretched to keep his equilibrium.

  
  


Hux wants to say something, call out to the ridiculous display of recklessness, but between wondering if that would throw Ren off and gleefully wanting to see exactly that result, the words die in his throat.

  


A levitating device rushes near, whirring around Ren in an insane speed, turning its fluidly moving parts around an invisible axis and shooting what Hux thinks are blaster bolts at him.

  


Ren ducks, whirls around, jumps out of the path of an electric blue bolt only to land again with sure footing on the same length of steel. He is moving with incredible precision, the crackling lights moving harmlessly bare inches from his skin.

Ren twists, shoves his head out of the way of another bolt, draws his weapon.  
  


The red plasma ignites, sputtering and hissing like a startled predator, and for a moment Hux can see flecks of bright hot blue in the blade. Despite the seeming reluctance of the sabre, the blade catches the bolts effortlessly, every struck target making the unstable plasma hiss a bit brighter. Hux can smell the ozone from where he's standing, fixated by Ren's barefooted dance across the steel that holds together his ship.

  


And then he realizes something.  
  


Ren's eyes are closed.

Have been closed this whole time.  
  


Hux stands still, for once awed by the things possible with the help of the Force.

  
  
  


Hux's datapad chimes then, and Ren jerks around at the unexpected noise, his eyes opening at the same moment as a bolt of electricity hits him in the side.

He's falling, and Hux takes a step forward, even though there's no way he could stop Ren's descent.

As it turns out, there's no need anyway.

  


Ren twists in the air, impossibly reaching out and securing himself with a force-pull against the hull of the ship, using the Force just enough to keep from ending up with broken bones. He hits the ground and fluidly rolls, using the momentum physics demand he spend or break his bones.  
  


Even so, Ren is a mess.

  


Hux stares up at him, because how dare the bastard be taller than him, and notices the dishevelled appearance, wide-blown pupils and heavy breath. Adrenaline, he thinks. The lightning doesn't seem to have affected the knight, possibly being intended to just shock if it came through his defenses.

  


"Ren." He grits out, trying to muster his usual disdain for the young man.  
  


Who has the audacity to grin down at him.

  


"General. What brings me the honour at such late an hour?"

  


"Apart from the security breach you caused? I know what is going on on my ship, Ren. Everything, in every little corner."

  


He sneers, but that doesn't wipe Ren's stupid grin from his face, as if he knows that Hux probably hadn't actively thought of this exact room since the moment he last saw the Finalizer's construction plans.  
  


"Well, apologies are in order, I assume?" It doesn't even remotely feel like an apology, though.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd come by yourself, in any case." _Stormtroopers, I can usually turn away._  
  


That's... unexpected. Ren's voice in his head, and the admission that he's apparently doing this regularly. Maybe not here, as the security protocol will testify.

  


But Ren also sounds... calm, in Hux's head. Not from what he says, or the tone. But for a second, Hux could pick up on the way the knight was feeling. His heartbeat skyrockets. Because of the exercise and the rebound feeling from Ren's intruding thoughts, he tells himself.

  


"As long as you keep my ship in one piece, I certainly don't mind. But next time, either make your presence known, or do me the favour of at least masking it properly."

  
  


Kylo Ren, at this, tilts his head and grins.  
  


"Why, did I wake you, dearest General?"

  


Oh he is so not doing this now.

  
  


Stepping forward, Hux manoeuvres himself into Ren's personal space, grabs him by the front of his sleeveless shirt.

He has never seen Ren in anything but his robe, so this is interesting, but he wills his thoughts in another direction. No point in pondering the exposed figure of his personal nuisance.  
  


"For once in your life, Ren, don't be a special snowflake and do as us mere mortals are doing. Go the fuck to sleep." He growls, willing himself to maintain the iron grip that pulls down Ren to his eye level.

  


Unexpectedly, Ren lashes out at him.  
  


Even more unexpected is that Hux actually parries, his reflexes kicking in before he can even think of self defense.

The mischievous glint in Ren's eyes tell him that the little shit means to provoke him. If a fight is what Ren means to get out of this, then Hux will oblige him. A chance served on a silver platter to beat the living shit out of Ren for once without any repercussions.

  
  


Hux drops his uniform jacket and shucks his boots, putting them on equal ground. Ren still grins, thinking himself far superior, even though he seems a bit rattled. Probably didn't expect Hux to rise to his bait.

  


The general drops into a low stance, for stability, already calculating the difference in height and range. Ren strikes first, aiming straight for Hux's face but he is faster, twisting away and under Ren's arm, catching his left and directing it away.

A kick to Ren's knee makes him stumble, but he catches himself faster than Hux expected, turning the awkward step into a sidestep to avoid Hux's follow up. Another step brings him out of Hux's range, but allows for a high, turning kick, which Hux just narrowly avoids by ducking, feeling the sharp current of air.  
  


He snarls, launching himself at Ren, catching his upper arm and using his momentum to send him flying with the help of a foot placed conveniently in Ren's path. The knight falls, but somehow, impossibly manages to turn the fall into a roll, and stares at the perplexed Hux from where he is crouched on the floor, every muscle taut. Down there, holding himself up with one arm and wiping at his face, Ren looks positively dangerous.

  


Distracted as he is, Hux catches on too late when Ren attacks again, a punch catching him in the ribs, but he retaliates with a right hook, unexpected from left-handed Hux and thus surprising Ren enough to split his lip.  
  


The bloody grin is glorious, and catches Hux's attention, unbidden thoughts springing to his mind. He wants to taste it, draw more of it out of the shallow cut, and he grins, almost feral. This time, Ren starts, a feint right, with Hux still sidetracked, and his left grazes Hux's temple, making his ears ring.

He ignores the flare of pain, twists out of the path of Ren's next punch, barely manages to catch the third with his forearm. Ren isn't taking any chances, but Hux knows how to use his smaller frame, again managing to get into Ren's space, elbowing him in the stomach, allowing Ren to place an awkward hit that doesn't do much damage.

Another kick from Hux as he twists away sends the knight sprawling to the floor, but realizes too late Ren had already grabbed him by the back of his shirt and goes down with him.

  
  


They lie on the concrete floor, panting heavily. Ren's breath is ghosting over the back of his neck, and before he can move away, Ren leans his forehead against Hux's back and laughs like the right lunatic he is.

After a second, Hux joins in, hesitantly at first. The adrenaline still speaks through him, maybe some ill placed endorphins. He doesn't mind them, right now.  
  


Two damn idiots they are, Hux thinks as he turns to have a look at Ren and examine the damage he has wrought.

  


Ren's face is a mess. Blood clings to his lips, colors his teeth crimson, even somehow dripped on his neck. His eyes are black holes that bore into Hux's. The General imagines he doesn't look any better, with his hair and clothes in complete disarray and a feeling like a bruise already beginning to form over his left eye where Ren's knuckles grazed him.

  


He shuts up then, suddenly, as he becomes aware how much he wants Ren in this moment. It's not a thought he has allowed himself to entertain before, but now it's out in the open. He reaches for Ren's face, pushes his chin up to examine the wound.  
  


It's shallow, and will heal. But he is drawn to it.  
  


Ren moves up, but aborts the motion, and Hux feels a quiet pressure in his mind, urging him forward.

  


He grips Ren's shirt again, then, and crushes their lips together.  
  


  


It's a shit kiss, he's sure of it.  
  


But he can taste Ren's blood, more vibrant than he imagined, copper and something undefined, and he finds himself craving more. Not of the blood, but of Ren, of the small noises he makes, the way his breath quickens.  
  


In an ignored corner of his mind, Hux is sure he is fucked.  
  


  


He pushes himself onto his elbows, leans over Ren and grabs a fistful of hair. He would have forced Ren's head back, exposing his throat, but the knight complies already with his eyes closed.  
  


"Fuck...Hux." Ren's voice is rough, raw.  
  


There's need in it too, and Hux feels a hand slip under his shirt, lets Ren pull it up and then over his head. He also leans up and into Hux, who, for a second thinks Ren is going to press his lips to his shoulder, but has to suppress a startled shout as Ren bites into the juncture of neck and shoulder, hard. He is drawing blood, but Hux lets him, shudders at the twin sensation of pleasure and pain as Ren sinks his teeth deeper before licking over the wound which is already beyond all soothing.

  


He jerks his hand back, his fingers are still clenched in Ren's hair, and his head hits the floor with a thud and a husky laugh from the knight, who doesn't seem to mind in the slightest.

  


Hux snarls and sits himself down on Ren's lap, grinding down.  
  


It's supposed to be a sort of punishment, but they both are aware on some level how beyond that point they are. Ren's back arches off the concrete, his fingers pressing into Hux's hip to keep him exactly where he is. They are both hard, Hux can feel it, and right then he is beyond all shame.  
  


He kisses Ren again, somewhat softer this time, which none of them expected.

  


Finally, Ren manages to sit up a bit, with Hux pressed against his chest, fingers skirting over Hux's waistband.  
  


"Come on already," the General grits out, giving Ren all the consent he needs, and he pulls down Hux's pants with a swift motion before wrapping his fingers around Hux's length.

  


Hux has to grit his teeth together to stop a low, filthy moan in its tracks, but chooses to push against Ren, urging him to grip him harder, just right.  
  


"Impatient today, General."  
  


He wants to kill Ren just for still being so coherent, and bites his lip, right where it's split. The startled painful gasp makes Hux grin, and he apologetically raises a hand to caress Ren's face.  
  


"I think... you having your fingers around my dick... is the point where you're definitely allowed to use my name." He has to concentrate to string the words together but is proud of it nonetheless.

  


Ren laughs softly, a noise which Hux has never heard from him before. Hux closes his eyes briefly.  
  


"Get out of your damn clothes, Ren."

  


For once, Kylo Ren does as he is told and Hux, only shortly disappointed by the loss of contact, gets to see the knight peel out of his dark clothes, revealing a lean, pale body and a plethora of dark spots that remind Hux of star constellations. Of fucking course. He's already getting sentimental.

  


He closes his eyes briefly, regretting not having any lube at hand, even though the notion is insane. Why should he run around his ship in the middle of a night conveniently carrying the stuff.  
  


Ren pulls him over and down onto the robes, revisits the bruising wound on Hux's shoulder, begins to trail his kisses lower over Hux's chest and abdomen, fingernails scratching deliciously over his sides. He even thinks he can hear Ren whisper his name as his lips ghost over skin, but that cannot be.  
  


Finally, Ren dips his head, tongue licking a teasing stripe up Hux's length before taking him fully in. Hux sees stars.

  


Ren is clever, soon figuring out when to tease just slightly, and when to suck hard. He uses his hands to hold Hux's hips down, which he finds, unexpectedly, turns him on beyond all belief, and he is a gasping, writhing mess in Ren's hands.  
  


"Fuck, Ren..." He tugs at the dark curls to warn the knight, who, regrettably, pulls back. Not that Hux had expected him to swallow his cum.

  


Ren moves up, kisses Hux in that weird, tender way of his and wraps his hand around the both of them.  
  


Hux arches into him, the sudden friction nearly too much, but just the tiniest shred of willpower keeps him from coming. He grits his teeth as Ren smears precum over both their cocks, letting Hux fuck into his hand and against him.

  
  


"Come on, _General_." The way he says it is nearly too much, and Hux positively moans against Ren's mouth.

"That's not... my name," Hux still insists, if only to keep himself distracted.

  
  


He cannot do this much longer, but Ren... he can't either. Hux can feel it in the way his movement is getting erratic, how his eyes are half closed and he pulls Ren closer, trails a hand down his body until his hand joins Ren's, helps him jerking them both off.

And that finally pulls the lowest, filthiest noise Hux has ever witnessed from Ren's throat, and he shudders as he comes, breathing hard and gasping.  
  


"Hux..."  
  


This, of all things, is what sends the General over the edge, finally allowing himself to succumb, his orgasm hitting him harder than he expected. He cries out, grabs for Ren, who catches his hand, and lets himself fall back onto the ground.

  
  


They are silent for a long time, after that, both of them breathing hard.

Ren's face is pressed to Hux's chest, his eyes closed.  
  


Hux is nearly afraid to speak, to break whatever it is that is now between them, but Ren turns his head, just the slightest motion, and presses a kiss to Hux's skin.  
  


It's enough to reassure him, and he brings up a hand to card through Ren's hair, only too late remembering the mess he has made all over his hand. He still cannot bring himself to care.

  
  


"What do we do now?" Ren asks.  
  


"Take a shower, hopefully," Hux answers, the sarcasm not as biting as he wants it to be. He is wondering the same.

  


Ren looks up, his face unusually open. It makes him look...young. Vulnerable, maybe, though this is a word Hux never thought he would associate with him.  
  


"We carry on. We'll be our usual asshole selves. After all, we both got a reputation," Hux muses, which earns him a wry smile from Ren.

"What if I want to do this again?"

  


Hux mulls for a long time over the question, and with every second that passes, Ren looks more insecure. It's a look that doesn't fit him, Hux decides and pulls him up and into a long, slow kiss, taking care this time to not unnecessarily hurt Ren.  
  


"Then I invite you to come find me whenever people aren't looking."

 

  


**Author's Note:**

> title is a quote by Poppy Z. Brite


End file.
